The Spring Equinox has been and passed, and the buds are sprouting like mad from tree and hedge all around the cottage. The daffodils are out and it will soon be time to attack the grass again. Last year, I let it lie fallow (posh term for doing naff all) as it was all covered in mud due to the river flood so I will have to sort out the strimmer and surf eBay for a ride-on lawnmover or resign myself to four hours cutting every weekend.
The weather is most un-Spring-like, scorching away like high summer though - this being Scotland - there are murmers of snow forecast for the weekend. Not that snow in April would be unheard of, however. My birthday is this coming Wednesday, 4th April, and my mother swore that she was glad to get into Aberdeen Maternity for the heating while the snow lay piled up where it had been cleared from the sides of the city streets in piles of over six foot. The following April, her cousin gave birth in England at the end of the month and had to thaw the radiator in the nursery with a hairdryer due to the hard freeze.
Be that as it may, it has been a glorious week. The dogs are suffering a bit though enjoying being out in the garden whenever possible, as well as throwing themselves into the river to cool off. Last Sunday I thought it was too hot to take them for a walk mid-afternoon so took the car up to the village for the papers. While I was there, I had the thought to walk them through Saline Glen in the shade of the trees and with the cool of the running burn. Like a fool, I hadn't brought my mobile so there are no pictures of Sunday but I do have some from last summer of a similar walk in the Glen.
It seemed odd to be out and about in the Glen with no leaves on the trees yet on such a hot day. There was a lot of damage from the winter storms (including Hurricane Bawbag) evident without new growth to soften the scars. The Glen was clearer and sharper to the eye without the covering of leaves, flowers and grass and small waterfalls could be seen as runoff from the surrounding fields to the north and gardens to the south poured down into the Saline Burn, which makes its way north from the Glen through the village to join the river just yards from the cottage.
Buddy was in his usual bouncy mood, playing King of the Castle and refusing to let his sister up from the burnside. Other dog owners had had the same idea for a good walk in the shade so there was quite a lot of sniffing and wagging going on all over the place. He's a very sociable character and happy to see anybody; Sheba is more reserved and fussy.
So, the next event is Easter and the shops are full of chocolate, candles, decorations and so on. I'm quite happy to make a pig of myself with chocolate and to stock up on decorations for next Spring Equinox. Lidl had some lovely candles in today in the form of beautifully-decorated eggs - six for £2.99 - and I would love to have had the money to buy a pack of each design.
Which brings me back to the subject of the Spring Equinox, particularly eggs. There's an urban myth/legend that eggs will stand on their pointy ends at the time of the equinoxes only, as this is the time when night and day, dark and light are in balance. Friends of mine always include this in their equinox ritual. Of course, you have to wait for the heavy yolk to drop to the pointy end but it's remarkable how the power of belief helps - eggs suddenly start to balance all over the place once someone is the first to balance theirs. Yet, the equinoxes are also the time when the tides change, when light becomes ascendent over dark and vice versa; the astral tides are changing and changing tides give rise to turbulence. This can certainly be seen in the weather - despite the sun and heat of this week, I have still had to scrape the car windscreen of frost in the morning and snow is predicted for some parts of Scotland this weekend. Turbulence can also be seen in the political sphere as politicians let the sun go to their head, open their mouths and put their huge feet in it (Tories, I'm thinking of you here, you bunch of evil shysters). Personally, the employment scene has also been rather turbulent this past week but I've tweeted enough about that.
I've been thinking a fair bit lately about the Equinox and Easter lately but I'll leave that for the next post.
Enjoy the sun while it lasts!
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